A coalition of academic, government and private industry
partners has built a prototype hydrogen-fueled, electric-powered
transit bus that produces near-zero emissions.

The H2Fuel Bus is the first vehicle to feature this unique
hybrid power system, which uses hydrogen fuel stored in
metal hydrides. It was delivered to the Augusta-Richmond
County Public Transit in late April, where it will be used as
part of regular operations for one year.

"There is no other hydrogen-fueled vehicle like this," said
Charles M. Stancil, a senior research engineer in the Georgia Tech Research Institute's (GTRI) GTRI's role in the project was to integrate and test the
33-foot bus's internal combustion engine, electrical generator
and drive motor, and metal hydride fuel storage system.

Bus Will Provide Information on
Hydrogen Fuel

By using the bus as a public transit vehicle, researchers
hope to gain valuable experience and raise public awareness and
acceptance of hydrogen as
an alternative fuel of the future.

"The actual transit experience over the next year will
provide critical data for the commercialization of hydrogen
vehicles," said Dr. William A. Summers of the Westinghouse Savannah River Co.,
another project partner. "Operating data will provide a
measurement of the performance, reliability and maintainability
of the various system components, primarily the hydrogen engine
and the metal hydride storage system."

Primary sponsors of this technology transfer and economic
development project include the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
and the Augusta-Richmond
County Public Transit. The metal hydride storage system was
developed at DOE's
Savannah River Site
near Augusta and provided
by the company that oversees this facility, the Westinghouse
Savannah River Co.

Other major partners include the Southeastern
Technology Center in Augusta, which is handling project
management and public awareness activities;
Hydrogen Components Inc. of Littleton, Colo.; the Education,
Research and Development Association of Georgia Universities; and
Blue Bird Body Co. of Fort Valley, Ga.

Hydrogen Ideal Replacement for
Fossil Fuels

Proponents of hydrogen fuel say it is an ideal replacement
for fossil fuels, which release gaseous oxides of carbon and
nitrogen when they're burned, causing air pollution and
contributing to global warming. Burning hydrogen fuel, in
contrast, produces water vapor that contains no carbon dioxide
(CO2) and little or no nitrogen oxide (NOx).

Although most hydrogen fuel in use today is produced with
natural gas through a process that produces CO2, it can be
created from water through renewable and non-polluting energy
sources like wind and solar power.

"If you're concerned about the carbon cycle in the world, you
have to look at hydrogen," said John C. Handley, a principal
research engineer in GTRI's Aerospace Science & Transportation
Laboratory. "We [think] we could get some real support from the
environmental community for this."

Metal Hydrides Provide Hydrogen
Storage

The technology of the H2Fuel Bus includes the metal hydride
storage system, which fuels a standard internal combustion
engine, which in turn drives a 70-kilowatt electrical generator
that keeps the bus's batteries charged.

Metal hydrides are intermetallic alloys that, when cooled,
absorb hydrogen gas into a solid form. The H2Fuel Bus uses a
metallic nickel powder distributed in an aluminum foam material
called Duocel®. When the hydrides are heated by energy from
the bus's generator, they slowly release the hydrogen as a gas to
power the bus's engine.

The bus currently carries 5,000 cubic feet of hydrogen and
can travel over 100 miles before refueling. The electrical system
is powered by 56 12-volt ElectroSource deep-discharge, lead-acid
batteries, which charge continually while the hydrogen engine is operating.

H2Fuel Bus Different From Other
Hydrogen Vehicles

Although the bus is unique, hydrogen-fueled vehicles are
being developed throughout the world, most with more costly
hydrogen fuel cells. In contrast, the internal combustion engine
technology developed for the H2Fuel Bus offers a near-term,
cost-effective alternative for cities trying to achieve near-zero
emission levels, said Dr. Earl J. Claire, executive director of
the Southeastern Technology Center.

Currently, widespread use of hydrogen is hindered by public
perception about its safety and a lack of infrastructure for
large-scale production and distribution. But researchers say
metal hydrides allow hydrogen -- the universe's lightest gas and
most abundant element -- to be converted from a highly reactive
gas to a safe solid form.

Researchers say that if this project goes well, it could be a
major step toward widespread acceptance of hydrogen as an
alternative transportation fuel.

"We have met the challenge of making hydrogen a safe fuel for
public transportation," said Dr. Mario Fiori, operations manager
of the DOE's Savannah River Site. "Now the challenge is to make
these buses more economical."

Other industrial participants for the H2Fuel Bus project
include Energy Research and Generation Inc., Power Technology
Southeast Inc., Air Products
and Chemicals Inc., Air Liquide America Corp., and Northrop Grumman Corp.

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